1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to log buildings and more specifically with respect to new and improved joint constructions including corner joints, butt joints and tongue and groove joints between adjacent courses of logs.
2. Prior Art
The use of tongue and groove constructions between adjacent courses of logs is old and well known in the art. However, such constructions invariably have at least one groove formed in the upper surface of the log. Such a groove will be susceptible to the accumulation of moisture and dirt which will lead to an early decay of the log. The use of parallel gasket strips on the upper surfaces of logs and between the ends of adjacent logs at a butt joint is also old and well known in the art. However, the accumulated total thickness of such foam gaskets can vary the vertical and horizontal dimensions of a wall beyond acceptable tolerances, especially in the vertical dimension as the gasket material is further compressed with the passage of time due to the weight of the logs.
The use of interlocking corner joints is also old and well known in the art but the upper surfaces of the intersecting logs are either flat at the joint location or else the tongues on the upper surfaces do not physically intersect in a manner which enhances the weather tightness of the joint. Those prior art constructions utilizing tongue and groove constructions on the upper and lower surfaces of the logs do not provide for air expansion chambers but either try to achieve very close tolerances between the tongue and groove or else fill any gaps between the tongue and groove with gasket material or caulking.
While the use of expansion joints or check grooves are old and well known in the art, such grooves provide a built-in entry at corner joints for air, moisture, dirt and insects and must be laboriously filled with caulking compound adjacent each joint subsequent to the construction of the building.
The foregoing and other constructional features of log buildings all present serious drawbacks to the wide-spread acceptance of log buildings and the correction or prevention of certain problems arising from such constructions usually require an increase in the time and cost of erecting a log building.